Horizon
by TaigaaGina
Summary: Mangaverse. Juudai just couldn't let go of the tiny speck of hope that there could be other people like him. Very slight Manjoume/Juudai.


**Author's notes:** For those of you who haven't read the GX manga, it's basically an AU story, so there are some (a lot of) changes. Major ones are probably how Juudai got Winged Kuriboh, Manjoume's characterisation and bigger role in the story, and everyone having different decks. Also, in the manga, Misawa is the one with a crush on Asuka instead of Manjoume, who's more of a loner and doesn't really communicate with people because of the rumours about him.

**Warnings:** Spoilers for, well, basically Juudai's past.

**Disclaimer:** This is a non-profit fanfiction. Yu-Gi-Oh! GX the manga belongs to Kageyama Naoyuki and Takahashi Kazuki.

-x-x-x-

Midori stared at the hospital's entrance and sighed. She didn't want to go in. She didn't want to see her brother, lying in the bed, hooked into the life-supports... Kouyou wasn't supposed to look like that. Not her always annoyingly energetic, back-talking, I-better-get-my-way-or-else little brother.

Her sweet, sweet brother...

Midori swallowed a sob and blinked to get the water out of her eyes. She squeezed the bouquet of flowers too hard, crushing some of the red petals. Every time she rode the bus to the hospital she was hoping to walk in and see Kouyou sitting on his bed, smiling and complaining about the hospital food.

Finally she took a calming breath and walked in, plastering on a strained smile as she walked past the reception desk. She shouldn't be this depressed. Kouyou would just laugh at her and tell her that everything would be fine. The idiot was always so optimistic about life.

When Midori opened the door to Kouyou's room, she wasn't all that surprised to see a small boy, sitting on a chair next to the bed, knees drawn up and shoulders shaking slightly. Midori could hear repressed sobbing and the spirit of Winged Kuriboh hovered worriedly over the child, cooing anxiously.

She laid the flowers on the bedside table and knelt next to Juudai. The boy should stop blaming himself for Kouyou's condition. It hadn't been just the duel on the rooftop, her brother's health had been deteriorating long before that. Midori laid her hand on the small shoulder and felt Juudai jump a little.

"Come on, Juudai," she began gently, "It's not your fault. Kouyou knew his limits and still forced you to duel. It's the idiot's own fault," and hers, too, for not being firmer with her brother.

The shaking got worse and Midori finally grabbed the boy's face, forcing him to look at her. Her eyes widened at what she saw, "Oh, Juudai..."

A black eye, cut lip, bloody nose, bruises all over the face and, now that she looked closer, on the thin arms and legs. Midori wrapped her arms around Juudai, pulling the boy into her lap. Juudai pressed his face into her chest, crying now uncontrollably.

"I'm not a liar!" Juudai sobbed, "I _can_ see him! I'm not a liar!"

"I know you're not," Midori comforted him, glancing at the spirit circling them.

"And I'm not crazy!" Juudai was finally starting to calm down, "Kouyou-san could see him, too! He told me!"

"Juudai," Midori pulled away and looked into the brown eyes, "Tell me what happened?"

"The others can't see him," Juudai's eyes strayed to Winged Kuriboh, "I told them he was there, that he talks to me. They said I'm crazy. They said I'm a liar!"

"Oh, Juudai," Midori hugged the boy when the tears threatened to flow again, "You have to understand. Others can't sense spirits like we do. You can't go around telling people about Kuriboh."

"But why do I see him _now?_" Juudai asked, "When Kouyou told me about Kuriboh, I couldn't even sense him."

"I don't know," Midori admitted, "I couldn't see him before Kouyou's collapse, either," before Winged Kuriboh had chosen Juudai as his new partner, "But I know that he isn't an evil spirit. It's thanks to Kuriboh that Kouyou is still alive."

"Kouyou-san..." Juudai whispered, staring at the man lying in the bed.

"Do you still have his deck?"

Juudai rummaged through his pockets, finally pulling out a small casing and handing it to Midori. She opened it and leafed through the familiar cards, "Juudai," she began, "Remember your promise to Kouyou? You have to take care of this deck, these monsters," she handed the deck back to the boy, "Take it and duel. Grow stronger," _The stronger you get, the stronger Winged Kuriboh will get, and then, maybe, Kouyou will awaken._

Juudai looked at the deck and then at Winged Kuriboh. The spirit cooed and Juudai's eyes turned determined, "I'll do it, Midori-san. I'll get stronger so that when Kouyou-san wakes up, we'll be able to have another fun duel."

Midori smiled at the boy and ruffled his hair, "That's my little brother. I know you can do it."

Juudai blushed a little at the 'brother' comment and then looked at Midori, "Um, you're going to the Duel Academy, right?"

"When the new semester starts."

"I'll go, too!" Juudai announced, "I mean, when I'm older."

"I'll be waiting," Midori said, smiling.

"So, do you..." Juudai looked down shyly, "Do you think there are other kids like me? Like us?"

Midori's smile faded when she saw the hopeful look on her 'brother's' face. She didn't want to do this, but it was better than leaving Juudai with false hope, "I'm sorry, Juudai, but I don't think that's very likely. We don't even know why _we_ are given these powers. It might be better not to talk about it too much."

"But-!"

"Juudai!" Midori looked at the boy sternly, "Not everyone will be understanding about what we are going through. Some people might believe you, but there are also those who could hurt you because of it," she looked at the injuries covering the boy's body, "Please, at least wait until you're older. I don't want anything bad to happen to my other brother."

"I know," Juudai looked down, "I'm sorry."

"You don't have anything to apologise for, silly," Midori ruffled the chestnut hair, "I'm just fussing over you like a mother hen."

"But that means that I... that we're all alone..."

Midori pulled the boy into a hug, "Idiot," she whispered, voice strained, "You're not alone. You have me and Kouyou," there was a sound of purring and she laughed, "And you have Winged Kuriboh, too."

"Thank you," Juudai hiccupped.

"Now, let's open the window and go get some water for the flowers," Midori said, standing up, "You know how much Kouyou hates the smell of the hospital."

"Yeah," Juudai smiled, wiping his eyes and wincing.

"And we better get something for your wounds, too."

"I'm all right!"

"We're getting you fixed, boy!"

"But that stuff stings!"

"You!" Midori slapped the boy over the head, "Go get the water and then we're going to see the doctor!"

Juudai grabbed the vase and ran out of the room, Winged Kuriboh close behind. Midori let out a sigh and opened the window, small breeze blowing through her hair. She hoped everything would turn out all right. For all of them.

-x-x-x-

Juudai had kept his promise. Both of them.

He had duelled with Kouyou-san's deck, and with Winged Kuriboh, growing stronger and stronger. He hadn't forgotten Kouyou-san's advice, though, to always have fun while duelling. Juudai had fun. He couldn't think about anything else he'd rather be doing. Getting into Duel Academy had been a dream come true, and he was an Osiris Red. He was even wearing Kouyou-san's colours!

He had kept his other promise, too.

After that day in the hospital, Juudai hadn't told anyone about his ability to see spirits, until his enrolment to the Academy. Here he had met a fellow Red called Marufuji Shou and an Obelisk Blue girl called Tenjouin Asuka. He had told his new friends about Winged Kuriboh, and even though he could tell that the two didn't quite believe him, they hadn't laughed at him or called him a liar, either.

Juudai just couldn't let go of the tiny speck of hope that there could be other people like him. Whenever Winged Kuriboh made a fuss around him, he would glance at the other students to see if anyone would notice. He told himself that it was all for Kouyou-san. Maybe other people with the same powers would know what had happened to the pro duellist.

Deep down, though, Juudai knew that it was just because of his selfish wish to be able to share his secret with someone.

Even though he had told Shou and Asuka about Winged Kuriboh, he hadn't told them about Kouyou-san, nor had he told them about Midori-san being able to see spirits, too. He didn't want to cause problems for Midori-san, not when she already had her hands full with all the rowdy boys of Osiris Red. Juudai didn't care what people thought of _him,_ but he would protect his 'sister' no matter what.

Still, he couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to share all this with someone. He had Midori-san, yes, but she was 'family', it was different.

The others didn't know what they missed. Like now, with the dragon floating over their heads, white scales sparkling in the sun, black scales looking as if they sucked in all the light around them. Juudai had to squint his eyes at the radiance. He looked around, but naturally no one else noticed, even though the pressure from the dragon's presence was almost overwhelming. There was something familiar about it, something that Juudai just couldn't put his finger on.

His eyes widened, his heart starting to beat faster as he realised that there was _one_ other person whose gaze was locked on the dragon.

Manjoume, looking both surprised and pained, was staring at the dragon.

It finally clicked. All those articles about the Junior Champion he had read... about a certain card they had mentioned...

Before Juudai could react, Shou was there, congratulating him about the victory. He mumbled something in response and turned back, but Manjoume was already gone.

-x-x-x-

"Aniki," Shou sighed, "Why are we here again?"

"I told you," Juudai hissed, "We're observing."

"Yes, but observing what, exactly?" the blue-haired boy questioned, "We've been sitting in these bushes for well over an hour already. I'm starving, aniki!"

"Shh!" Juudai hastily covered the smaller boy's mouth with his hand, "He might hear you," he gave his friend a warning glare and pulled his hand away, turning his gaze back to the blue-clad figure standing on the cliff-side.

Shou was silent for a moment, but finally couldn't take it any more, "Why don't you just go talk to him?"

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I just can't, okay!" really, what could he say? 'Hey, Manjoume, I know we haven't really talked outside of duelling, except that one time you asked about Kouyou-san and I ran away. Anyway, can you see spirits? Because I can.' No, that would be too weird, even from him.

"So, if you don't want to talk to him, why are we here?" Shou asked.

"I... I just need to make sure of something," Juudai muttered. _His_ Winged Kuriboh was always hovering around him, so maybe Manjoume's dragon was, as well. Then he could be sure and could finally gather up the courage to actually _talk_ to him. He was still hitting himself for fleeing when Manjoume had approached him about Kouyou-san. He had just gotten so used to hiding his relation to the former pro, that he had automatically avoided the subject. Although the connection should be obvious, now that he thought about it. He _was_ using Kouyou-san's one and only The Earth, after all.

"What do you need to make sure of?" Shou wondered, "He's just standing there, staring, alone-"

"Yeah," Juudai muttered, "Doesn't he have any friends?"

"Not that I've noticed," Shou replied, "But then again, I don't really know what goes on in the Blue dorms."

"He's always alone..."

"Aniki," Shou looked at his 'brother', worried, "Did something happen between you and Manjoume-kun?"

Juudai was about to reply when a strong, slender hand smacked him on the shoulder, making him squeak in surprise instead.

"Hey, guys! What are you doing?" Asuka grinned at the Red boys, kneeling behind the bush to join her friends.

"We're stalking," Shou informed her.

"We're not stalking!"

"All right, then. We're starving."

"And why are you doing that?" Asuka questioned, peeking over the bush to spot Manjoume, "You're not planning to push him over the edge, are you?"

"No! We're just observing," Juudai hissed, motioning for her to keep her voice down.

"Observing for what?"

"Stuff!"

Asuka looked at Shou, but the blue-haired boy just shrugged his shoulders, "So, why don't you just go talk to him?"

"I can't."

"Because?"

"Because it would be too intrusive!" Juudai snapped.

"And _stalking_ him isn't being too intrusive?" Asuka had to raise an eyebrow at the Red's logic.

"I'm not stalking!"

"Anyway, what are you doing here, Asuka-san?" Shou interrupted, "Did you have some business with us?"

"Oh, right!" she slapped her hands, looking at the boys, "Manjoume-kun was wondering why you two have been hiding in the bushes for the past hour."

Juudai stared at his friend.

Asuka gave him a lopsided grin.

He turned towards Shou, who was looking towards the cliff.

Slowly he turned his head and was met with dark eyes.

-x-x-x-

"Well, that wasn't embarrassing at all," Shou smiled.

"Shut up."

"I didn't know you could run so fast, aniki."

"I told you to shut up!" Juudai muttered angrily into his pillow, "Gods, what did you tell him?"

"Nothing, really," Asuka said reassuringly, "Just that you found a really cool looking slug," at her friend's scandalised look she frowned, "Hey! That's the best I could come up with in such a short notice. At least it explains why you guys were hiding in a freaking bush!"

Juudai let out a groan, "He must think I'm a total weirdo."

"Trust me, aniki, he won't think you're any weirder than what he did before," Shou assured him.

Juudai turned over and kicked the bunk above him, smirking when Shou let out a surprised shriek.

"What's your sudden interest in Manjoume-kun, anyway?" Asuka asked while flipping through one of Juudai's duelling magazines.

"Nothing," Juudai muttered and turned his back to his friend, sulking.

Asuka glanced at Shou.

"I don't know, either. Aniki's just been stalking Manjoume-kun for two days now," the boy explained.

"I'm not stalking!" Juudai denied.

"Well, what is it that you do, then?" Asuka asked, teetering on the desk chair.

"I just..." he turned to face her, "Does Manjoume have any friends?"

"Are you avoiding my question?"

"Are _you_ his friend?"

"You _are_ avoiding my question," Asuka sighed, "Whatever. No, we're not friends."

"Why not?"

"Juudai," Asuka tried to explain, "Manjoume-kun doesn't really like to talk to people. We're classmates, we get along, but that's about it."

"Well, does he have any other friends?" Juudai insisted.

"I've never seen him with anyone unless it's for a school project or duelling," she picked up another magazine, "Besides, most people at the Blue dorms don't really like him. The guys anyway."

"Huh? Why is that?" Shou joined their conversation.

"They say that Manjoume-kun only got into Obelisk Blue because his family bribed the school."

Juudai's eyes widened and Shou gasped, "Whoa! Is that true?"

"Of course not!" Asuka snapped, "This school is owned by Kaiba Seto. You'd need to have a death wish to go up to _him _with bribe money. Besides," she flipped through the magazine and pointed out an article, "Manjoume-kun's a Junior Champion! You'd really think he'd get to be a Blue if he didn't have any _talent?"_

"Wow! Manjoume-kun really won all those tournaments?" Shou sounded impressed.

"You didn't know?" Juudai asked, surprised.

"I only ever went to see my brother's duels," the boy admitted, a little embarrassed for his ignorance.

"Light and Darkness Dragon," Juudai said, "That was his ace during his Championship years," and that was the dragon he had seen that day they duelled. It couldn't have been just a coincidence. But he had never seen Manjoume use the card in any of the duels in the Academy. In fact, he hadn't seen Manjoume duel at all how he had imagined. The boy in the magazines always looked so happy, but the boy he saw in the Academy seemed angry and in pain.

"Boy, you sure have a lot of articles about Manjoume-kun," Asuka's voice snapped him out of his musings.

"Huh? Oh, yeah," of course he had. He had articles about Kouyou-san, too, but reading them always made his chest hurt.

"So that's why you were so pumped the first time you saw him," Shou laughed, "He's a celebrity."

"It's not that!" Juudai blushed. Yeah, he had a thing for duelling strong opponents, so what?

"So now you're stalking him," Asuka muttered, ignoring Juudai's glare, "And you even have all these magazines about him," she let out a giggle, "Boy, it's almost as if-," her eyes widened suddenly in realisation, "Oh..."

"What?"

"Oh gods!" she covered her mouth, turning to Juudai, "That is _so_ weird and cute!"

"What is?"

"Juudai!" Asuka rose from the chair, placing her hands on the boy's shoulders, "I'm going to help you."

"Huh?"

"Tomorrow, after the classes, come to the lecture hall B. You better not chicken out!"

"What are you talking about?" Juudai was just getting confused now.

"Oh, don't you worry your pretty little head about it," Asuka smiled, "Leave everything to me. Just remember; tomorrow, B. Got it?"

"I guess?"

"Good!" she straightened and walked to the door, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I promised to meet Misawa-kun before the curfew. See you guys tomorrow! Oh, and Juudai?" she turned to the brunette one last time, "Whatever happens, just remember; I'll support you, hundred percent."

"Um, thanks?" Juudai decided to just give up. He guessed even Asuka had her weird moments.

"Okay! Good night, guys!" and she was gone.

"What the hell was that?" Shou asked.

"I have no idea."

-x-x-x-

The next day Juudai was waiting for Asuka in the empty lecture hall B. He had no idea why he was doing this, especially since he still didn't know what to do about Manjoume. He sat on the teacher's desk, restlessly swaying his legs. Winged Kuriboh was fluttering about again, sensing his anxiety.

"What do I do, aibou?" Juudai sighed, "Why can't I just go talk to him?" well, he kinda knew why. He was afraid.

What if Manjoume had just happened to look at the dragon's direction? What if his card _had_ a spirit but Manjoume himself was unable to sense it? What if it was just coincidence that a dragon like Manjoume's had appeared? Manjoume had obviously gotten rid of the card, why else wouldn't he be using it at the Academy.

There was the other possibility, too. That Manjoume _could_ sense spirits, and that he knew what had happened to Kouyou-san. And what if Juudai asked and the other boy would tell him that there was nothing they could do to save Kouyou-san? That they should just pull the plug and let him rest in peace?

Juudai swallowed down a lump that was forming in his throat. How could he deal with news like that? How could Midori-san deal with something like that. Kouyou-san was her dear little brother, her _real_ little brother.

Juudai jumped down from the desk and headed for the door. He had waited long enough. If Asuka had something to tell him, she could call him. He would go see Midori-san, ask if she had any advice to give.

The door opened and Manjoume walked in.

"Tenjouin said you had something to tell me."

Juudai was sure he was doing a pretty good impression of a deer caught in headlights. He could feel his mouth hanging open and snapped it closed so hard that his teeth hurt. Finally he was able to collect himself enough to answer, "She did?"

"Yes," Manjoume looked at him steadily, "So?"

"I... I have no idea," Juudai got out. And it was true. He had no idea why Asuka would say that he had something to tell Manjoume. She couldn't possibly know about his spirit-dilemma.

"Well, there was something I wanted to talk to you about," Manjoume said.

Juudai's eyes widened and his heart started to beat faster, "R- really?"

"Yes. You ran away before you could give me a satisfactory answer," Juudai's heart sank. So it was about _that_, after all, "Why do you have Hibiki-senshu's card?"

"I..." Winged Kuriboh was hovering next to Manjoume, but the boy didn't seem to notice.

"What is your relationship to Hibiki-senshu?"

"Um..." the spirit was now floating between them, staring at Manjoume's face and cooing in interest. The boy _still_ didn't show any signs of noticing him. Juudai could feel his courage failing.

"Answer me, Yuuki Juudai!"

"Well, you see..." Juudai smiled nervously, "The thing about that is..."

-x-x-x-

"What are you doing?" Misawa asked.

"We're stalking," Shou answered, sighing.

"We're not stalking!" Asuka snapped.

"All right, then. We're starving."

"We're observing," Asuka hissed, turning back to staring at the closed lecture hall door.

"Observing for what?"

"If you must know, Misawa-kun, we're observing two hearts finally connecting."

"We're what?" Shou asked.

"Juudai and Manjoume-kun," Asuka clarified, "You know? Juudai finally confessing his feelings."

"What!"

"Wait, wait... Juudai and Manjoume? When did this happen?" Misawa asked, sounding a bit scandalised.

"At this very moment," Asuka turned back to her observation, "Damn! I should have made them meet outside. I have no idea what's going on."

"Me neither," Shou muttered, "How do you know aniki has a crush on Manjoume-kun?"

"Think about it," Asuka turned towards the two boys, "He's obviously a big fan of Manjoume-kun's, he's been following him around, wanting to talk to him but being shy about it, what else could it be?"

"Maybe he just wants to be friends," Misawa offered.

"Hush, you!"

"Hey, isn't that aniki?"

All three of them turned to see Juudai running out of the lecture hall, looking as if the devil himself was after him.

"Get back here, Yuuki Juudai!" Manjoume yelled from the door, but the boy was already running past the trio, yelling something that sounded like 'I hate you, Asuka!' while passing them. Asuka stepped out to stop Manjoume before her fellow Blue could go after the boy.

"What did you do to him?" she growled.

"Nothing! He just freaked out on his own."

"He didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"That bastard chickened out!" Asuka shrieked, "Come on, Shou-kun! We're going after him!"

"But I..."

"Now!" she grabbed the small boy and the two ran after the fleeing Red. Misawa looked after them, then turned towards the confused Manjoume.

"What the hell is going on here?"

"I have no idea."

-x-x-x-

Juudai was hitting his head against the tree trunk, ignoring Winged Kuriboh's pleading cooing. He had freaked out and screwed things up, again. It had been the perfect opportunity, Manjoume had brought up Kouyou-san himself, he could have just followed through and told him about Kouyou-san's situation and him getting the deck. Then he could have just told him about Winged Kuriboh and ask what had happened to Manjoume's Light and Darkness Dragon and whether the boy was aware that the card was actually a spirit. It was so simple!

Instead he had pushed the boy out of the way and ran like hell.

Why was he so scared of telling Manjoume about his ability? He hadn't been before, he _had_ commented to the boy that his card contained a spirit, when he had first asked to duel Manjoume and the boy had belittled his aibou. At that time _Manjoume_ had been the one to run away. Shou had said that it was because he had gotten freaked out about Juudai talking about spirits, but he wondered if that was really the case.

After Manjoume had made his comment about Winged Kuriboh, the spirit had come out, cooing angrily at the Blue boy. It was at that moment, not when Juudai had told about the card containing the spirit, that Manjoume had positively paled. He had obviously seen Winged Kuriboh!

"But then," Juudai pressed his head against the tree, shoulders slumping, "Why couldn't he see you just now?"

There was rustling and Juudai could hear someone coming to the small forest clearing. He didn't turn around, though. He had a pretty good idea who it was.

"I'm sorry, Juudai," Asuka whispered when she saw the state Juudai was in. She let go of Shou's hand and the boy doubled over, trying to catch his breath.

"I told you I hate you," Juudai muttered.

"You poor boy," Asuka coaxed Juudai to turn around, pulling the boy in her arms, "I didn't know it was _this_ hard for you."

"Why can't I just tell him?" Juudai sobbed. It would be so easy. It would be so relieving to get all this off his chest, to finally be able to tell someone about Kouyou-san and about Winged Kuriboh. Someone who would understand.

"You poor boy," Asuka whispered again, "You must really love him."

"Yeah," Juudai sniffled. Then his brain finally registered what Asuka had said, "Wait, what?"

"It's okay," Asuka assured him, "It's perfectly normal to feel like that. You don't have to be ashamed."

Juudai pulled away and stared at the girl, "I'm not in love with Manjoume!"

"Huh?"

"What the hell gave you that idea!"

"But... You have all those magazines..."

"Because he's a great duellist!" Juudai shouted, "I have magazines about other duellists, too! You think I'm in love with all of them?"

"But..." Asuka looked really confused and she was starting to get a bit embarrassed, "What is this thing you can't tell Manjoume-kun, then?"

Juudai had to look away, "It's... it's something personal, okay?"

"Well, can't you tell us?" Asuka asked, signalling to her and Shou, who had finally gotten his bearings back.

"I'm sorry. It's... something to do about his past," Juudai explained, "About my past."

"Is this about that card?" Juudai looked at Shou in surprise, "You know? The Earth? Manjoume-kun tried to ask you about it once."

"Yeah," The Earth was definitely part of it. Not the whole story, but still a part of it, "Among other things."

"Whatever it is, keeping it to yourself is obviously hurting you," Asuka said, "Go and tell him, if it will make you feel better."

"I'm scared," Juudai finally admitted it aloud, "I've been keeping it to myself so long that I don't know how to begin."

"I'm sure you can do it," Asuka placed a strong, supportive hand on the boy's shoulder, "And Manjoume will understand, I'm sure of it. Believe it or not, he hasn't been as cold as he used to."

"Thanks," Juudai looked at the girl, apologetically, "I don't really hate you. Sorry I said that."

Asuka smiled and gave him a friendly hug, "And I'm sorry for trying to meddle in your business."

There was a rumbling noise nearby and they both looked at Shou, who rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "Sorry about that, but if we're done with all the drama, could we go and get something to eat?"

Juudai laughed and placed his hand on the smaller boy's shoulder, starting to lead him away, "Come on, buddy, let's go see if the cafeteria is still open."

"For your sake I hope it is."

While they walked Juudai glanced at Asuka, grinning, "Still can't believe you thought I was in love with him."

"Shut up."

-x-x-x-

The next day after class Juudai walked slowly towards the cliff-side. The wind was blowing strongly, dark storm clouds forming at the distance, but this didn't seem to bother the Obelisk Blue boy standing at his usual spot, arms crossed and eyes turned towards the sea. Juudai came next to him but didn't say anything. Frankly, he still wasn't sure about how he should start his story, but he could at least try and get closer to the other boy. Even if it turned out that Manjoume couldn't sense spirits, it would still be nice if they could be friends. Juudai still wanted to have another duel with the boy, and hopefully this one would be the kind that they could both enjoy. Now that he thought about it, Manjoume hadn't seemed to be so much in pain lately, and life was finally returning to the dark eyes. Juudai didn't know what had prompted the change, but he was glad for it.

"I give up," Manjoume said suddenly.

"Huh?"

"Trying to find out about The Earth," Manjoume turned to look at him, wind blowing through his dark hair "It's obviously something you don't want to talk about. I give up."

"I'm sorry," that was really all Juudai could say.

"Why should you be?" Manjoume turned back to the sea, then gave a suspicious glance at the other boy, "You didn't steal it, right?"

Juudai rolled his eyes, "I can assure you, I got it legally."

"Right."

They stood there silently, staring at the sea and the gathering storm clouds. The sun was still shining brightly over them, reflecting from the rising waves, making the water seem almost white. Juudai smiled when he stared at the horizon, the thin line separating the black clouds from the white sea.

"Light and Darkness," he whispered. He felt Manjoume tense next to him.

"Excuse me?"

"I said, 'no wonder you love this place so much'," Juudai looked at the boy, smiling at his confused expression, "It's beautiful."

Manjoume stared at him suspiciously, but finally turned his gaze back to the horizon, eyes widening a little, as if just realising it, "Yeah. I guess it is."

Winged Kuriboh appeared next to them, looking at the sea and cooing, and at that very moment Manjoume's lips turned up into a tiny smile. Juudai's breath caught in his throat and he could feel the excited beating of his heart. He still felt torn, though, and stayed quiet, not wanting to disturb the calm they had.

Still, one day he would do. One day he would gather up the courage to finally ask.

'Hey, Manjoume. Can you see them, too?'

-x-x-x-

**Author's notes:** Again, to those who haven't read the manga, Manjoume _can_ see the spirits and has a spirit called Light and Darkness Dragon himself. He just keeps his ability hidden because he's a loner and because he doesn't yet recognise Juudai's determination to fight alongside the spirits (this isn't a spoiler, since it's pretty much revealed in the second chapter). Juudai doesn't find out about this until the fourth volume.

I'm going to write a sequel to this when I don't have so much stuff to do.


End file.
